Wednesday, October 5, 2011

It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified:

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.”,

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

A couple of things happen in these verses.

The first is that we see the name of the Son from Chapter 1 now. Jesus. We’ll find this is pretty important throughout Chapter 2, but think about the first chapter. It was entirely about characters found in the heavenly realm. God, the Majesty in heaven, the Father … the angels, who are messengers to the earthly realm and servants of the Father … the Son. This is the royal home of God. The Son is seated on the throne. So … much like an earthly palace, everyone is referred to with titles. Instead of the King, we have God … instead of a Prince, we are introduced to the Son. Never once in Chapter 1 do we see Jesus’ name.

Now, the action moves to earth. Once the Son walks among humanity, He is given a name. Remember … that is one of the things that God asked Adam to do on earth – name everything. The name is very important to give distinction to individuals, various animals, fish, birds and plants. In heaven, names are written in the Book of Life … but those are for us … not for the royal residents.

The second thing actually relates to the first. The Son comes to earth and because He has been made human, that actually places him a little lower than the angels in his earthly form. Just for a little while, but long enough for him to bring salvation to the world.